This invention relates to a hospital bed that is convertible to a chair. The structure of the present invention is primarily useful for facilitating getting a patient from a supine position on the bed to a standing and/or walking position.
In the present practice, two nurses are preferably employed in assisting a patient's moving from a supine position to a standing position. This is particularly true for a patient who has been in the supine position for a long period of time. In many instances, the patient in that condition simply does not want to stand because it is painful.
To get the patient to a standing position, the bed is lowered. The side rails of the bed are dropped. The patient is then pivoted or swung through 90.degree. so that the patient's legs hang over the side of the bed. Even in its lowered position, the patient's feet most likely will not rest firmly on the floor. Therefore, in addition to hurting, the patient is apprehensive about sliding off the bed without knowing when his feet will touch the floor.
In this attitude, attendants assist the patient in getting his feet on the floor as he slides off the bed. The attendants cannot lift directly since they are at the edge of the bed and the patient's weight is centered inward of the edge of the bed. If the patient should start to fall, the attendant must hold the patient firmly while at the same time bracing himself in a somewhat awkward position. This movement will sometimes lead to back injury of the attendant.